Upriver Migration and Energetics. Timing Patterns Speed Energetics Hell s Gate Slide and Fishway

Transcription

1 Upriver Migration and Energetics Timing Patterns Speed Energetics Hell s Gate Slide and Fishway

2 But before we dive into the details, let s take a moment to consider the athletic performance accomplished by at least some populations

3 The Salmon of the Yukon River C.H. Gilbert Bulletin U.S. Bureau of Fisheries 38: As regards the rate at which [Chinook salmon] ascend the river, we have more reliable and complete data for the Yukon than have been secured in any other stream. Records were obtained of their first appearance at a large number of localities. The first king salmon to reach Dawson in the middle of July, 1920, had been traveling against a consistently rapid current for 29 days, at the rate of 52 miles per day, and during this period, as always within the river, had taken no food.

4 The Salmon of the Yukon River C.H. Gilbert Bulletin U.S. Bureau of Fisheries 38: [The chums] entered the river about a week later than the kings, at Tanana they were not more than 10 days behind the latter, and at Dawson they were some 14 days behind the kings. The lower 800 miles of the river, as far as Tanana, were traversed at the rate of 50 miles per day and the next 700 miles, between Tanana and Dawson, were covered at the rate of 35 miles per day.

5 An experimental endless fishway was built in which salmon jumped up a series of pools and then slid back down, to test swimming performance to aid design of dams. Collins et al TAFS 91: 1-7 In five days a 50 cm sockeye salmon ascended day and night, 2025 m (6648 feet) in 415 circuits of the fishway. It was still climbing when the staff let it go. Not until the fifth day did it show signs of slowing down, and blood lactate levels did not indicate muscular fatigue.

6 Migration timing between and within species (some patterns and a lot of variation) 1) Sockeye and Chinook tend to migrate and spawn early 2) Coho tend to migrate and spawn late 3) In Puget Sound pink salmon tend to spawn earlier than chum salmon but farther north this is not the case 4) Chinook and steelhead display extreme variation in migration timing among populations, and also considerable variation within populations (especially steelhead)

7 Estimated daily counts of adult salmon ascending the Ballard Locks in ,500 3,000 sockeye 2,500 2,000 1,500 1, Chinook coho - 8-Jun 8-Jul 7-Aug 6-Sep 6-Oct

8 Estimated cumulative counts of adult salmon ascending the Ballard Locks in ,000 Median (50%) dates: 60,000 45,000 7 July 20 Aug 18 Sept 30,000 15,000-8-Jun 8-Jul 7-Aug 6-Sep 6-Oct

9 Monthly entry of chinook salmon as inferred from catches at Rio Vista, including winter, spring, summer, fall and late fall runs 5000 Stone, L. Bull US Fish Comm 16: number of salmon caught January February March Sacramento River, 1872 April May June July August September October November December

10 Seasonal changes in the percentage of stream and ocean-type chinook to the total run in the Fraser River (data from Rich 1942)

11 Arrival patterns of Chinook salmon destined for parts of the Fraser River basin Waples, R. S., G. A. Winans, F. M. Utter and C. Mahnken Genetic Approaches to the Management of Pacific Salmon. Fisheries 15(5):

12 Migratory timing of Fraser River sockeye salmon populations and pink salmon to the Strait of Juan de Fuca) Composite Sockeye Adams/Late Chilko Stellako Early Misc. Early Stuart Birkenhead Pinks 18-Jun 03-Jul 18-Jul 02-Aug 17-Aug 01-Sep 16-Sep Area 20 Date

13 Odd and even year pink salmon can differ in timing: Sashin Creek, Alaska T.R. Merrell In: Symposium on Pink Salmon, N.J. Wilimovsky (ed.) Mean 50% Date Percent of Total Run Odd years Even Years Aug. Sept.

14 Counts of upstream migrating (ripe) and spent wild steelhead in two tributaries of the Siuslaw River, Oregon in and (ODFW data, complied by McMillan 2001) 60 Ripe Spent Dec Jan Feb March April May June

15 Steelhead are commonly referred to by the season when they return to freshwater (summer or winter) but are more properly referred to by the environment where maturation takes place. Ocean maturing (= winter) steelhead arrive in late winter and spawn shortly thereafter. River maturing (= summer) steelhead arrive in late summer and spawn the following spring.

16 Entry of adult winter and summer steelhead into the Kalama River, Washington % of annual total Winter: mean spawning: 15 April Summer: mean spawning: 1 Feb winter summer Oct Dec Feb Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec Feb

17 Caveat: Counts in rivers may be affected by fishing Daily escapement of sockeye salmon into Iliamna Lake and estimated daily total run in 1983

18 Changes in fish traits over the run There are often systematic changes in the life history traits of salmon over the course of the migration Sometimes these reflect differences in timing of discrete populations that differ in those traits However, sometimes there are also systematic differences within populations

19 Older salmon tend to arrive before younger ones (Tuluksak River, Alaska) (Molyneaux and DuBois 1998) % age 5 chum salmon Jun 8-Jul 28-Jul 17-Aug Sampling date

20 Larger salmon of a given age may arrive before smaller ones (Tuluksak River chum) 650 Mean chum salmon length age 5 males age 4 females Jun 8-Jul 28-Jul 17-Aug Sampling date

21 % males Male salmon typically precede females (chum salmon) Jun 8-Jul 28-Jul 17-Aug Sampling date

22 Why might older/larger fish and males migrate and arrive before younger/smaller fish and females? 1) Migratory performance: bigger fish swim faster and so arrive sooner, even though they leave at the same time. 2) Feeding ecology: the optimal duration of time at sea depends on how big you are smaller fish have a greater need to grow than larger fish. 3) Spawning ground dynamics: smaller fish cannot compete, and so arrive after bigger fish; breeding dynamics favors early arrival by males.

23 What time of day do salmon migrate upstream? Primarily at night: kokanee Primarily in the day: Sockeye, chinook, steelhead At night if the water is clear, in the day if turbid: Atlantic salmon At night in moderate flows, in the day on floods: Atlantic salmon Slightly more at night than during the day: Atlantic salmon Brown trout Lorz and Northcote 1965 Columbia River Hellawell et al Potter 1988 Allan 1966

24 What is the relationship between flow and migration? Increases in flow stimulate migration: Atlantic salmon Huntsman 1948, Hayes 1953, Saunders 1960, Harriman 1961, Potter 1988, Jonsson et al rainbow trout Davies and Sloane 1987 coho salmon van den Berghe and Gross 1989 pink salmon Hunter 1959

25 What is the relationship between flow and migration? Increased or high flows retard migration: Atlantic salmon Alabaster 1970, Hellawell et al. 1974, Jensen et al brown trout Stuart 1957, Alabaster 1970, Davies and Sloane 1987 pink salmon Davidson et al. 1943

26 Hunter (1959) JFRBC Relationship between pink salmon migration and flow in Hooknose Creek, AK flow fish 1952 normalized fish run August September October November

27 Salmon movement can occur without pulses of stream flow: Skutz Falls, B.C flow fish Oct Nov. 5 6 Neave (1943) JFRBC

28 Upriver travel can be very rapid Chinook Yukon River = 36 km/day (radio tagging) Yukon tag/recovery ~ 40 to 77 km/day Columbia River: 1134 km at 26 km/day (pre-dam) Chum - Amur River: 1193 km at 45 km/day

29 Jumping ability Steelhead > Chinook > coho > chum = pink Reiser et al TAFS

30 Energetics of Fraser River Sockeye Components of Research 1. Estimate travel rate (tagging, counts) 2. Estimate rate of energy consumption as a function of activity (lab) 3. Determine rate of energy depletion during migration 4. Estimate actual swimming speed

31 Energetics of Fraser River Sockeye Analogy: Car 1. Determine Seattle to Olympia distance and time of travel 2. Determine the fuel consumption rate 3. Measure the gas used 4. Estimate the driving pattern

32 Fraser River system, B.C. Francois Lake Takla Lake Stuart Lake Quesnel Lake Horsefly River Chilko Lake Adams River Shuswap Lake Hell s Gate

33 Sockeye Speed of upriver travel o Based on run peaks at different sites: ostuart, Bowron, Horsefly = 48 km/day ochilko and Stellako = 34 km/day oadams = 27 km/day o Stuart Lake: Lummi Island to Forfar Creek: o1152 km in 27 days = 43 km/day (tagging)

34 Relationship between percent body percent body fat fat and migratory distance Gilhousen 1980 Early Stuart Chilko Adams Distance upriver (km)

35 Energy remaining (% of initial) for Fraser River sockeye from entry to death on spawning grounds Race Sex Fat Protein Distance (km) Elevation (m) Stuart M F 5 45 Chilko M F 7 41 Adams M F Gilhousen IPSFC Bull 22

36 % fat at river entry Populations and species of salmon with more arduous migrations have more fat when they leave the ocean E+06 distance (km) x elevation (m) Data sources: Brett 1995, Mathisen et al. 1988, Williams et al. 1986, Kizevetter 1948, Davidson and Shostrom 1936, etc.

37 Sockeye salmon were placed in a swimming tunnel, water velocity and temperature were controlled, body size was measured, and oxygen consumption and energy use were recorded after determining the swimming capacity of the fish.

38 Energetics of migrating sockeye 35 Energy cost (kcal/kg/km) Optimum Es tim ated during upriver migration Observed during upriver Observed in migration coastal waters Burst Maxim um sustained Speed (km/hr) For a 2.27 kg, 61 cm sockeye least energetic cost is 1.8 km/h. River Speed: equivalent to 4.3 km/h Brett, J.R In: Aspey and Lustick (Eds.) The cost of survival in vertebrates.

39 Fraser River sockeye salmon catch millions of sockeye Note: 4-year cycle, and drop in catch after Year

40 Fraser River at Hell's Gate, 1897, looking upstream before the railway was built on the East Bank

41 At Hell s Gate the river is so constricted that it varies by nearly 30 m during a year Jackson IPSFC Bull. III

42 Hell s Gate The Fraser River was probably always hard for salmon to ascend at Hell s Gate (and other locations) dumping of rock material from railway construction virtually blocked passage of fish; millions died unspawned 1914 Feb. 23: a huge rockslide, caused by Canadian Northern Railway tunneling, again greatly restricted flows

43 Sockeye salmon blocked at Hell's Gate,

44 Hell's Gate, February, 1914, after the collapse of the rock cliff above the Great Northern Railway Tunnel

45 Hell s Gate: 1915 After the slide it was virtually impassable to fish from levels 25 to 40 feet and difficult from 10 to 60. Vertical drop: 9 feet (after rocks removed). Velocity: 5.0 to 6.75 meters per second

46 Hell's Gate, 1914, looking upstream, temporary fishway built on the east bank to aid adult salmon migrating up-river Hell s Gate, 1915, excavated rock from slide on east bank deposited onto rock shelf on west bank.

47 Hell s Gate Fishways now designed to pass 26,000 fish per hour in daylight. At the peak of the migrations they may pass over 500 salmon per minute. Aid passage at 10 to 70 feet elevations.

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49 Correlation between mortality of sockeye salmon and temperature (Gilhousen 1990) Percent mortality Early Stuart Lake R 2 = 0.36 Percent mortality Raft River R 2 = Spawning ground temperature Temperature at Hell's Gate

50 Water temperatures (e.g., August means) have been getting warmer r 2 = r 2 = 0.21 Columbia Fraser

51 One response by salmon has been to avoid the warmer water. Columbia River sockeye are migrating earlier than in the past; steelhead are migrating later. Median migration date r2=0.43, p<

52 Future effects of climate change?

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54 Estimated swimming speeds of migrating sockeye salmon (Hinch, Quinn data) coastal river: constricted river: unconstricted % frequency cm/sec = 5.4 km/h or 2.5 body lengths/sec for a 60 cm fish > 300 swimming speed (cm/sec)

55 Temperatures (e.g., the Columbia River at Bonneville Dam) have been getting warmer Mean July Temperature (oc) r2=0.42, p< Year

56 Hell s Gate Cross section at reference line station Depth in Feet Left Bank Jackson IPSFC Bull. III Primary Sockeye Migration Downstream view Max: 61 feet Min: 12 feet 1912 to 1948 Max: 93 ft Min: 8 ft

57 Steelhead and chinook salmon counts at the fish ladder as a function of time of day: Lower Granite Dam, Snake River, in

58 Timing of Atlantic salmon ascending the Le Havre River, Nova Scotia Mid-day Hayes (1953) B.F.R.B.C Hour of the day